D. Thomas Minton
writes speculative fiction from his home in the mountains of British Columbia.
Tag Archives: Writing Craft
Did They Really Say That?
“The Beauty of Wynona” is the only historical fiction story I’ve written, so I’m certainly no expert on this sub-genre. That said, this story taught me a lot about writing such stories. “The Beauty of Wynona” is set in 18th century England. I’m … Continue reading
Ack! My Short Story has Grown Too Fat!
A couple of months ago, I set out to write a 5,000-word short story. As I sat down to write today, I found that my short story had grown toward novella proportions: 13,500 words and counting. This is a problem. I know … Continue reading
Loglining My Novel-in-Progress
I finished the first draft of my novel back in December and decided to shelve it for a while before revising it. I put off the revisions for several months because I didn’t know where to start. Then I came … Continue reading
Does It Have to Be All About Conflict?
I have a confession: I’m a writer who doesn’t consider himself well-read. Sure, I’ve read a lot of speculative fiction, but outside the genre, I haven’t read much. I’ve read some of the English language classics and a smattering of world fiction, but … Continue reading
Diabolical Plots Interviews Mike Resnick
Just a quick post today because I’m feeling a little under the weather (I must have caught something on the plane ride home). One of the few websites I read with any consistency is Diabolical Plots, run by speculative-fiction authors … Continue reading
Should We Have Writer’s Cuts?
With DVDs, director’s cuts and extended cuts of movies are all the rage. While some director’s cuts are substantially different from their theatrical release (e.g., Bladerunner), most seem to include only extra scenes, which don’t substantially change the meaning or … Continue reading
Logging a Couple More
In preparation for editing my novel, I’ve been practicing loglines. They’re starting to come more easily, so I think I’m about ready to tackle a logline and summary for my book. Before doing that, I thought I’d share another pair of loglines. … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
Tagged Clownspace, Do Not Go Gentle into the Night, Logline, Writing Craft
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More Stories, More Loglines
The past two days, I’ve been practicing crafting loglines in between my usual short story writing and editing. I thought I’d share a couple. Here’s what I came up with for “Observations on a Clock,” published in the February issue … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
Tagged Logline, Observations on a Clock, Wings Over the Suicide Rocks, Writing Craft
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The Ins and Outs of Loglines
I’ve started revising my novel. (Actually, I’m still preparing myself to get to work as I polish off a few short stories, but I’m starting on the ground work). A while ago I talked about the elevator pitch approach to … Continue reading
How Long is Too Long?
Two years ago, I finished a draft for a novel and promptly put it on the shelf. I didn’t shelve it because I thought it was bad—quite the contrary, I think it has a lot of potential. I shelved it … Continue reading
D. Thomas Minton 